Baseball Takes Second Game of Twinbill at Hartford, 7-3

WEST HARTFORD, CT -
Senior Tyler Santos drove home the winning run with a single in the ninth inning and catcher Jeff Heppner followed with a three-run blast to provide some insurance as the Sacred Heart baseball team defeated Hartford 7-3 in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday.

Hartford, 3-13, took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Mike Amendola that plated Simon Kudernatsch who had tripled with one out.

Senior shortstop Phil Tantillo tied the game for the Pioneers in the top of the second with a solo homer to lead off the frame, his first of the season. Hartford shortstop Jason Freethey answered in the bottom of the third with a solo shot of his own to put Hartford up 2-1.

The score stayed that way until the sixth with freshman first baseman Robert Griffith tied the score for the Pioneers when he took Hartford starter Ben Sobocinski deep for his first collegiate homer.

SHU starter Jared Balbach kept the Hawks off the scoreboard for the rest of regulation and freshman Mike Olszyk gave him a 3-2 lead in the eighth when he hit his third homer of the season with one out off Hawk reliever Bob Rogers.

Amendola, who had homered in the first game of the twinbill, hit a solo shot off Balbach with one out in the bottom of the inning that tied the score once again.

The Pioneers had their biggest inning of the afternoon in the top of the ninth, getting to Rogers for four runs. MJ Schifano led off the inning with a single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. Mike Drowne reached on a walk, and Ryan Lynch hit into a fielder's choice to second that put runners on the corners with two outs. Santos put SHU ahead when he drove home Schifano with a single. Heppner was up next and cleared the bases ith his fourth homer of the season.

Freshman James Ineson relieved Balbach in the bottom of the inning and worked around a two-out single to close the door and help the Pioneers snap a five-game losing streak.